*nia 


The  Duties  and  Dangers  of  Those 
«ho  are  Born  Free. 


JK 
21 

P4 


&^e^ 


Mr.  PEABODY'S 


ELECTION  SERMON 


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The  duties  and  dangers  of  those  who  are  born  free. 
A 

SERMON 

PREACHED    AT    THE 

ANNUAL    ELECTION, 

JANUARY  2,  1833, 

BEFORE 

HIS   EXCELLENCY   LEVI   LINCOLN, 

GOVERNOR, 

HIS  HONOR  THOMAS  L.  WINTHROP, 

LIEUTENANT    GOVERNOR, 

THE  HONORABLE  COUNCIL, 

AND 

THE    LEGISLATURE    OF    MASSACHUSETTS. 


BY  WILLIAM  B.  O.  PEABODY. 

Minuter  in  Springfield. 


Boston: 

DOTTON    AND    WEVTWORTH,    PRINTERS    TO    THE    STATE. 

1833. 


ffotumontocaltf)  of  Jfttassacijusett?. 


IN  SENATE,  JANUARY  3,  1833. 

Ordered,  That  Messrs.  Merrill  and  Hudson,  be  a  Committee,  lo  wait  on 
the  Rev.  \V.  B.  O.  Peabody,  and  present  hiin  the  thanks  of  the  Senate  for  his 
discourse  delivered  yesterday  before  the  Government  of  the  Commonwealth,  and 
to  request  a  copy  thereof  for  the  press.        Attest. 

CHAS.  CALHOUN,  Clerk. 


SERMON. 


"  THE  CHIEF  CAPTAIN  ANSWERED,  WITH  A  GREAT  SUM  OBTAINED  I  THIS 
FREEDOM  ;  AND  PAUL  SAID,  BUT  I  WAS  FREE  BORN." 

Acts,  22d  chap.  28th  verse. 

Though  the  Roman  state,  at  this  time,  retained 
no  vestige  of  its  former  liberty,  it  was  still  the  boast 
of  the  Roman  citizen,  that  he  was  born  free.  He 
was  envied  and  respected  by  those  who  had  never 
possessed  this  freedom  as  a  birthright,  and  by  those 
who  had  bought  it  with  a  price.  As  soon  as  St. 
Paul  declares  that  he  had  inherited  this  distinction, 
the  very  sound  of  the  word  fills  the  soldiers  and  their 
tribune  with  dread.  They  unclench  their  grasp : 
they  unbind  his  chains :  their  manner  changes  at 
once  from  the  insolence  of  tyrants  to  the  humility 
of  slaves.  But  this  privilege,  so  longed  for  by  those 
who  do  not  possess  it,  is  too  often  under-estimated 
by  those  who  were  born  free.  I  do  not  mean  to 
say  that  the  apostle  undervalued  it :  he  was  not  t.h<i 


man  to  forget  or  abandon  his  own  rights  :  he  learn- 
ed a  different  lesson  from  his  Master,  who,  when 
Pilate  said  to  him  in  derision,  What!  are  you  a  king, 
then  ?  replied  with  unequalled  majesty,  Yes,  I  am  a 
king ! 

Those  who  are  bom  in  a  land  of  liberty,  regard 
freedom  as  a  very  simple  thing.  It  seems  to  them 
the  easiest  suggestion  of  nature,  the  first  dictate  of 
a  nation's  heart :  and  yet,  in  practice,  we  see,  that 
so  far  from  being  a  simple  attainment,  it  is  the  very 
last  result  at  which  civil  experience  arrives.  Noth- 
ing can  be  clearer  than  the  truth,  that  man  has  a  right 
to  be  free;  but  to  reconcile  liberty  with  order, — to 
define  the  provinces  of  freedom  and  submission, — to 
bring  a  million  different  wills  to  choose  the  one  right 
way  ; — how  to  do  this,  is  a  problem,  which  cannot  be 
solved  without  ages  of  time  and  hosts  of  intellectual 
power.  We  boast  that  we  have  solved  it  here ;  if 
so,  it  is  not  our  own  happy  discovery  ;  it  is  the  result 
of  a  thousand  endeavors ;  it  is  wrought  out  by  the 
efforts  of  all  generations  ;  it  is  the  last  of  a  bright 
chain  of  experiments ;  and  there  are  almost  as  many 
steps  in  the  demonstration,  as  there  are  years  in  the 
age  of  the  world. 

It  is,  then,  not  an  easy  thing,  nor  a  trifling  privi- 
lege, to  be  free.  What  is  a  free  state  ?  It  is  one 
uliich  lives  under  the  government  of  laws  and  not 


of  men ;  it  is  one  in  which  all  are  equal,  as  respects 
their  civil  rights ;  it  is  one,  in  which  the  liberty  of 
each  is  abridged  as  little  as  possible,  and  his  respon- 
sibility extended  as  far  as  possible  ;  it  is  one,  which 
gives  the  widest  range  to  the  moral  and  intellectual 
powers,  while  it  restrains  and  governs  injurious  pas- 
sions ;  it  is  one,  in  which  the  prosperity  of  the  state 
depends  upon  the  conduct  and  character  of  its  indi- 
vidual members,  and  therefore  each  is  held  directly 
responsible  to  the  Most  High.  The  materials  which 
form  the  fabric  of  a  free  state,  are  not  bound  to- 
gether by  external  force  ;  they  are  built  in  an  arch, 
where  every  stone  bears  its  part  of  the  burden,  and 
is  essential  to  the  firmness  of  the  whole.  While  each 
retains  its  place,  any  pressure  can  be  borne,  and  any 
shock  resisted  ;  but  the  failure  of  any  affects  the 
stability  of  all :  let  any  one  be  unsound,  highest  or 
lowest,  key-stone  or  any  other,  it  loses  something 
of  its  power  to  withstand  the  force  of  the  elements 
and  the  waste  of  time. 

Now,  for  the  first  suggestion  of  such  a  state,  we 
are  indebted  to  religion.  The  Hebrew  common- 
wealth stands  alone  in  the  ancient  history  of  man. 
It  contained  some  of  the  essential  elements  of  a  free 
state  ;  it  distributed  civil  rights  in  as  just  propor- 
tions as  it  then  could ;  it  allowed  no  one  to  injure 
01   oppress  another ;   it  made  the  prosperity  of  the 


whole  depend  upon  the  conduct  of  the  people,  and 
held  every  one  directly  accountable  to  God.  It  is 
true,  that  the  system  was  imperfect ;  as  our  Saviour 
says,  much  was  allowed  them  on  account  of  the 
hardness  of  their  hearts,  which  otherwise  would 
have  been  forbidden ;  but  every  thing  about  it  was 
preparatory  and  prophetic  ;  it  was  meant  to  lead  to 
something  better ;  and  it  was,  in  truth,  compared 
with  any  thing  else  which  then  existed,  a  light 
shining  in  a  dark  place,  till  the  day  should  dawn 
and  the  day-star  rise.  Whoever  will  consider  the 
Hebrew  constitution, — how  it  declared  that  the  pros- 
perity of  a  nation  consisted  not  in  the  grandeur  of 
its  monuments,  the  splendor  of  its  victories,  nor  the 
sweep  of  its  bounds; — how  it  provided  for  education, 
improvement,  and  the  arts  of  peace; — how  it  insisted 
on  a  sense  of  duty  in  every  man,  every  woman, 
every  family  and  every  tribe,  as  essential  to  the 
general  welfare,  will  admire  the  divine  wisdom  with 
which  the  foundations  of  that  state  were  laid,  and 
will  confess,  that  for  the  first  suggestion  of  a  free 
state,  we  are  indebted  to  religion. 

The  system,  of  which  we  see  the  cold  dawning 
in  the  Hebrew  state,  was  expanded  by  Christianity 
into  the  perfect  day.  Slowly,  however ;  for  though 
our  religion  contains  and  teaches  all  the  principles 
of  freedom,  it  was  long  before  its  moral  influences 


could  reach  the  hearts  of  men.  There  is  no  doubt, 
that  the  Christian  religion  has  always  been  prepar- 
ing the  way  for  an  equality  of  civil  rights.  When  it 
taught  men  that  kings  were  but  the  vassals  of  a 
mightier  power ;  when  it  taught  them  to  bow  the 
knee  to  God,  and  to  Him  alone ;  when  it  directed 
every  man  to  do  to  others  as  he  would  have  others 
do  to  him ;  it  was  teaching,  all  the  while,  the  les- 
sons of  freedom.  It  did  not  tell  its  disciples  to  with- 
stand oppressors,  because  it  removes  all  evils  by 
general  improvement,  not  by  direct  resistance  ;  it 
did  not  show  them  how  to  exercise  civil  rights,  be- 
cause they  did  not  possess  them.  Still,  ever  since 
the  star  in  the  east  first  rose,  the  vallies  have  been 
rising  and  the  mountains  sinking  low ;  every  man 
learns  that  he  is  his  own  master,  and  that  his  first 
allegiance  is  due  to  God :  those  who  have  this  feel- 
ing, and  power  to  act  upon  it,  will  call  no  man  mas- 
ter, and  are  at  once  substantially  free ;  and  our  re- 
ligion, by  teaching  this  truth,  has  sown  the  seed, 
which  is  ripening  into  a  harvest-home  of  liberty,  hu- 
manity, and  happiness  to  men. 

Neither  can  any  free  state  subsist  in  its  freedom, 
without  religion.  I  do  not  mean  religious  estab- 
lishments and  forms.  By  religion,  I  understand  a 
knowledge  of  our  duty,  both  to  God  and  man ;  and 
since  Christianity  has  made  that  duty  plainer,  and 


10 

enforced  it  more  powerfully  than  any  other  religion, 
I  would  say,  that  every  free  state,  in  order  to  en- 
dure, must  be  built  on  Jesus  Christ — the  Rock  of 
ages.  For,  consider,  I  pray  you,  what  a  state  is  ; 
it  is  not  a  mechanical  construction,  with  self-mov- 
ing powers  ;  not  a  system,  engrossed  on  tables  of 
parchment  or  of  stone ;  a  state  consists  of  men  ;  a 
free  state  consists  of  men,  who  can  govern  them- 
selves ;  and  when  I  say  that  the  state  cannot  exist 
without  religion,  I  do  not  mean  that  religion  must 
be  found  in  their  statute  book  or  bill  of  rights,  but 
that  it  must  dwell  and  have  power  in  their  hearts, 
because  this  is  the  only  way  in  which  a  state  can  be 
influenced  by  religion.  The  people  are  the  state : 
their  rulers  are  men  whom  they  employ,  because 
they  trust  and  honor  them ;  but  whatever  power 
they  delegate,  they  retain  the  right  to  resume  it, 
and  thus  the  sceptre — the  sovereignty — never  departs 
from  the  people's  hands.  And  I  would  ask,  if  they 
ought  not  to  feel  some  responsibility  with  all  this 
unbounded  power  ?  Responsible  to  man  they  cannot 
be;  there  is  no  human  authority  above  them;  so, 
that  without  religion — without  the  sense  of  duty  to 
God,  and  the  feeling  that  they  are  accountable  to 
God, — there  is  nothing  to  restrain  those  passions 
which  bring  men  and  nations  to  ruin.  If  you  say 
that  education  will  sustain  the  state,  let  me  remind 


II 

you,  that  religion  is  the  education  of  the  moral 
powers ;  you  do  not  think  that  a  knowledge  of  arts 
and  sciences  is  sufficient :  no  education,  but  that 
which  teaches  the  duty  and  destiny  of  man,  is  ex- 
tensive enough  for  the  purpose :  and  such  instruc- 
tion, in  our  rights,  duties,  obligations  and  powers, 
as  members  of  the  community  and  subjects  of  the 
Most  High,  belongs  to  the  province  of  religion. 

But,  unhappily,  the  importance  of  religion  in  our 
civil  relations,  so  far  from  being  universally  felt,  is 
even  doubted,  or  at  least  questioned,  because  so 
many  unfortunate  and  fatal  attempts  have  been 
made  to  effect  an  union  of  church  and  state  in  vari- 
ous nations.  If,  by  the  church  we  are  always  to 
understand  men,  who  belong  to  the  lodges  and  en- 
campments of  religious  party, — men,  enslaved  to  the 
opinions  of  sects  and  the  dictation  of  masters, — cer- 
tainly nothing  could  be  more  pernicious,  than  that 
such  persons  should  be  the  state  and  command  its 
mighty  powers.  But,  if  you  use  the  word  church, 
in  what  ought  to  be,  and  will  be  its  meaning ;  if 
you  regard  it  as  consisting  of  men,  who  are  govern- 
ed by  the  liberal,  just,  and  unambitious  principles  of 
religion — of  men,  resembling  Jesus  Christ  their 
master, — then  it  would  evidently  be  well  that  the 
state  also  should  consist  of  such  members  ;  in  other 
words,  that  the  church  and   state  should   be  one. 


12 

But  now,  when  churches  regard  themselves  as  cor- 
porate bodies,  with  chartered  rights,  and  with  inter- 
ests distinct  from  those  of  other  men, — now,  when 
to  be  a  member  of  a  church,  is  not  necessarily  the 
same  thing  with  being  a  conscientious  and  real 
Christian, — now,  such  an  union  would  be  death  to 
freedom,  and  must  be  firmly  resisted  by  the  free. 
Draw,  then,  the  line,  broad  and  deep,  between 
Christianity  and  Christians ;  between  Christianity 
as  you  find  it  in  the  gospel,  and  Christianity  as  you 
find  it  in  the  conduct  and  lives  of  Christians.  Dis- 
arm all  sects — our  own,  and  all  others — of  civil  pow- 
er as  sects,  for  it  cannot  be  trusted  in  our  hands  ; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  let  the  influence  of  Christ- 
ianity in  the  state — that  is,  in  the  men  who  are  the 
state, — be  entire,  unresisted  and  almighty. 

I  have  said  so  much  of  religion,  because  I  propose 
to  speak  of  the  duties  and  dangers  of  those  who  are 
born  free,  and  because  it  should  be  understood,  that 
all  our  duties  are  duties  of  religion.  In  our  civil 
and  public,  as  well  as  our  domestic  and  personal 
relations,  Christianity  expects  every  man  to  do  his 
duty,  and  reminds  him  that  he  must  answer  to 
God. 

First :  it  is  the  duty  of  those  who  are  born  free, 
to  learn  the  worth  of  freedom.  We  undervalue  every 
privilege  which  we  possess  ;  we  cannot  tell  how  to 


13 

estimate  it,  without  such  attention  as  many  will  not 
give,  or  such  hardship  and  privation  as  they  may 
never  know.  Freedom  is  to  the  spirit,  like  health 
to  the  frame ;  no  other  blessing  can  be  enjoyed 
without  it.  When  the  sick  is  imprisoned  in  his 
chamber,  the  fool  says  in  his  heart,  "  He  has  kind 
attentions  and  a  luxurious  bed  ;  what  can  he  wish 
for  more  ?"  and  yet  every  breeze  whispers  to  him, 
what  a  privilege  it  is  to  be  abroad  in  the  open  fields 
of  nature :  every  waving  bough  beckons  him  out  to 
see  the  glorious  world,  and  breathe  the  free  air  of 
heaven ;  but  there  he  must  remain,  bound  to  his 
bed  of  torture,  constantly  reminded  of  blessings 
which  he  may  never  again  enjoy.  Have  we  never 
expressed  similar  surprise,  that  nations  should  rise 
against  oppression  ?  have  we  never  said  of  any  peo- 
ple, "  they  have  peace  and  plenty,  what  can  they 
wish  for  more  ?"  They  answer,  as  with  the  voice 
of  many  waters,  that  they  wish  for  that  liberty 
which  God  and  nature  gave  them  :  while  they  long 
for  it  without  hope,  or  while  they  are  sick  at  heart 
with  the  hope  deferred,  the  world  seems  to  them 
like  a  dungeon :  and  they  are  ready  to  be  baptized 
with  blood,  if  they  can  but  bear  the  name  of  free. 

If  our  fathers  understood  its  value  better  than  we, 
the  reason  was,  that  they  bought  it  with  a  great 
price.     When  they  left  the  house  of  bondage,  they 


14 

had  not  where  to  lay  their  head.  They  were  com- 
pelled to  count  the  cost  of  freedom, — to  say  what 
they  would  e;ive  in  exchange  for  it ;  they  bought  it 
with  exile  and  sorrow ;  they  afterwards  redeemed  it 
with  blood  ;  and  they  never  repented  their  choice, 
for  they  set  its  value  so  high,  that  they  determined 
within  themselves  that  it  was  better  to  sleep  under 
the  straw-built  shed — better  even  to  sleep  in  the 
dust,  than  not  to  be  free.  Thus  their  attachment 
to  liberty  became  a  deep  and  burning  passion ;  it 
grew  ardent,  strong,  and  almost  fierce  as  the  young 
eagle,  in  his  high  and  dreary  dwelling  among  the 
storms.  Is  it  so  at  the  present  day  ?  This  attach- 
ment is  not  proved  by  the  flashing  of  bonfires,  nor 
the  glancing  of  banners ;  the  bell  may  be  swung 
and  the  cannon  thunder,  long  after  there  has  ceased 
to  be  any  meaning  in  the  sounds  :  the  crowd,  with 
its  acclamations,  may  be  as  indifferent  to  real  liber- 
ty, as  the  child  who  beats  his  little  drum.  For  free- 
dom is  independence  of  soul ;  it  is  an  intellectual 
spirit ;  it  is  at  all  times  solemn  and  thoughtful ; 
when  challenged,  it  is  stern  and  high  :  it  is  a  spirit, 
therefore,  far  more  likely  to  be  found  in  those  who 
are  bearing  its  cross  and  fighting  its  battles,  than  in 
those  who  enjoy  the  victory,  gained  for  them  in 
other  times,  and  by  other  hands. 


15 

If  liberty  were  license — if  freedom  were  the  ab- 
sence of  restraint,  it  would  not  have  any  value  ;  it 
would  not  be  an  object  of  desire,  but  of  dread.  But, 
so  far  from  this,  it  is  the  right  to  restrain  ourselves : 
it  is  the  right  to  do  what  we  believe  is  right ;  so  far 
from  releasing  us  from  obligation,  it  breaks  down 
every  power  that  stands  between  us  and  heaven, 
and  prevents  our  feeling  a  direct  responsibility  to 
God.  So  that  it  is  a  trust  rather  than  a  possession ; 
a  blessing  to  be  answered  for,  as  well  as  enjoyed. 
And,  if  man  can  never  learn  its  importance,  till  he 
has  held  his  life  and  fortune  at  the  pleasure  of  anoth- 
er— till  his  conscience  has  been,  as  far  as  it  can  be, 
under  the  direction  of  another's  will,  those  who  be- 
come insensible  to  its  value,  must  not  complain,  if 
they  are  driven  through  the  same  stern  discipline 
again ;  for  they  will  need  and  deserve  to  be  worn  by 
the  continual  stroke  of  oppression,  drained  by  the 
demands  of  powerful  extortion,  and  trampled  under 
the  bloodshed  march  of  glory. 

The  second  duty  of  those  who  are  born  free,  is  to 
remember  their  responsibility  to  God.  Reason  and 
religion  both  say,  that  to  whom  much  is  given,  of  him 
shall  much  be  required.  Whatever  the  privilege 
may  be,  it  is  a  trust  confided  to  our  hands.  It  is  not 
ours ;  it  is  given  with  conditions  and  directions, 
with  which  we  must  comply  :  our  obligation  enlarg- 


16 

es  with  our  power ;  the  owner  of  a  thousand  talents 
has  a  thousand  times  as  much  to  answer  for  as  the 
owner  of  one.  In  lands,  where  the  private  man  has 
no  civil  influence, — where  he  cannot  make  his  voice 
heard  in  public  deliberations, — where  he  can  only 
bear  the  results,  and  not  direct  the  movements  of 
the  system,  he  is  no  more  responsible  for  the  action 
of  government  than  for  the  march  of  the  hosts  of 
heaven.  He  may  be  forgiven,  if  he  folds  his  hands 
and  acquiesces  in  what  he  cannot  alter.  But  it  is 
not  so  with  you.  Here,  every  man  is  responsible 
for  the  character  of  rulers  ;  for  the  effect  of  public 
measures ;  for  the  actions  of  his  government ;  for 
all  these  things  are  expressions  of  the  popular  will. 
It  is  not  enough  for  you  to  form  sentiments,  wishes, 
and  opinions ;  each  one  is  bound  to  do  all  in  his 
power  to  affect  the  public  mind,  and  secure  the  pub- 
lic welfare ;  for  this,  like  all  other  duties  of  religion, 
is  an  active  duty. 

But,  we  are  too  ready  to  adopt  the  feeling,  if  not 
the  language  of  other  countries,  and  to  speak  of  our 
rulers  as  responsible  for  the  state,  that  is,  as  respon- 
sible for  ourselves.  The  truth  is  directly  the  re- 
verse ;  we  are  responsible  for  them.  What  are 
your  rulers?  they  are  men — honored  men — whom 
you  entrust,  for  a  season,  with  the  exercise  of  your 
power.     They  do  not  govern  you  ;    they   are  the 


17 

means  by  which  you  govern  yourselves :  they 
breathe  your  spirit ;  they  do  your  pleasure  ;  they 
cease  to  exist,  the  moment  your  verdict  is  against 
them.  Where,  then,  should  the  responsibility  rest  ? 
with  those  who  possess  a  delegated  power,  or  with 
those  who  possess  the  sovereign  power?  However 
wise  and  faithful  the  rulers  may  be,  the  people  have 
power  to  undo  all  that  they  have  done ;  however 
excellent  the  measures  they  propose,  they  cannot 
take  effect,  till  they  bear  the  sign  manual  of  the 
sovereign.  You  have  power  to  affirm  or  reverse  their 
decisions ;  so  that  you  are  responsible  for  your  ac- 
tions and  theirs  also,  and  they,  as  rulers,  only  for 
their  cwn. 

Is  it  well,  then — is  it  right,  to  show  the  indiffer- 
ence which  many  do  ?  is  it  not  their  duty  to  take  an 
interest  in  the  subject  of  public  men  and  measures — 
to  ponder  well,  before  they  select  the  one,  or  set 
their  seal  upon  the  other  ?  When  acts  ane  passed, 
which  they  do  not  approve,  it  is  their  duty  to  sub- 
mit ;  when  men,  whom  they  do  not  approve,  are  set 
over  them,  it  is  their  duty  to  make  no  factious  op- 
position, but  to  support  them,  wherever  their  con- 
science will  allow.  But,  there  are  some,  who  say, 
that  they  care  not  for  these  things,  for  such  is  the 
excellence  of  our  system,  that  a  few  injudicious 
measures,  and  a  few  unworthy  men,  can  do  no  seri- 


18 

ous  harm.  What  do  they  mean,  by  saying,  that 
the  state  does  not  depend  on  men  ?  the  state  con- 
sists of  men ; — it  depends  wholly  on  men,  who  hold 
their  destinies  in  their  own  hands.  It  is  true  that 
the  people  hold  their  rulers  responsible,  and  may 
call  them  to  account  whenever  they  will  :  but  if 
they  care  not  what  rulers  they  choose,  will  that  ac- 
count ever  be  exacted  ?  No  :  they  leave  too  much 
in  the  hands  of  their  rulers,  rather  than  too  little  ; 
and  if  these  are  unfit  men,  the  vessel  of  state  is  left 
at  the  mercy  of  the  winds  and  waves.  It  cannot 
drift  to  its  harbour  ;  it  cannot  tell  its  own  bear- 
ings ;  it  cannot  find  its  own  way  through  the 
stormy  ocean  ;  a  child  may  guide  it  in  the  trade 
winds  ;  but  when  the  sudden  tempest  rises,  unless 
the  best  hands  are  ready  at  the  helm,  it  will  founder 
in  the  heart  of  the  seas. 

The  third  important  duty  of  each  member  of  the 
State  is  to  remember  his  own  power ;  to  remember 
how  much  he  can  do — how  much  he  can  do,  as  an 
individual — to  affect  the  public  welfare  ;  for  all  that 
he  can  do,  he  is  bound  to  do ;  his  responsibility  is 
measured  by  his  power.  But  how  does  it  happen, 
that  whenever  duty  is  named,  we  begin  to  hear  of 
the  weakness  of  human  nature?  That  same  nature, 
which  outruns  the  whirlwind  in  the  chase  of  gain, — 
which  rages  like  a  maniac  at  the  trumpet-call  of 


19 

glory, — which  laughs  danger  and  death  to  scorn, 
when  its  least  passion  is  awakened, — becomes  weak 
as  childhood,  when  reminded  of  the  claims  of  duty. 
Remind  man  that  he  has  power  to  do  something  for 
his  country,  and  he  answers  that  the  reach  of  his 
arm  is  small ;  that  his  voice  cannot  be  heard  far  ; 
that  he  can  make  no  wide  and  deep  impression  upon 
his  fellow  men.  But  there  is  power  somewhere ; 
men  cannot  have  it  when  united,  if  they  have  it  not 
when  apart:  the  cords  which  compose  the  sheet-an- 
chor cable,  are  not  singly  as  frail  as  the  silkworm's 
thread.  Where  each  has  his  portion  of  sovereignty, 
and  where  there  is  but  one  Power  above  him,  let  no 
man  disclaim  his  duty. 

So  far  from  its  being  difficult  for  an  individual  to 
exert  power  in  a  free  country,  it  is  the  greatest  dan- 
ger of  such  countries,  that  individuals  can  so  easily 
gain  power.  The  very  indifference  of  which  I  have 
spoken,  puts  it  within  the  reach  of  all  who  endeavor 
to  obtain  it.  If  they  are  ambitious,  they  will  flatter 
suspicion  to  sleep  ;  they  will  secure  the  confidence 
of  the  people  by  wearing  a  disguise  ;  and  when  they 
are  once  trusted,  they  will  make  the  state  neglect 
its  interests,  till  they  have  advanced  their  own. 
Whoever  desires  this  power  can  have  it.  It  requires 
not  talent,  but  address — a  kind  of  self-seeking  in- 
stinct,   like  that    which    belongs  to   some   of  the 


20 

meanest  animals  in  nature.  What  story  does  the 
history  of  all  nations  tell  ?  it  assures  us,  that  while 
the  many  were  inattentive  to  their  rights  and  duties, 
their  power  was  gradually  made  over  to  the  hands 
of  one.  It  is  true  that  the  ambitious  do  not  always 
succeed  ;  but  the  reason  is,  not  that  they  find  any 
difficulty  in  gaining  power,  but  that,  in  playing  their 
desperate  game,  they  sometimes  risk  it  on  the  chance 
of  a  single  throw,  and  thus  it  is  lost  forever. 

Can  it  be  that,  if  the  selfish  and  unprincipled  are 
uniformly  successful,  those  who  really  desire  the 
welfare  of  their  country  can  gain  no  power  ?  No  ! 
such  is  not  the  order  of  nature.  They  may  not  be 
so  conscious  of  the  result  of  their  exertions,  because 
they  do  not  wish  to  bring  all  those  results  home  to 
themselves  ;  because  they  do  not  labor  for  them- 
selves. Still,  every  good  man  exerts  a  power  on 
others,  the  extent  and  importance  of  which,  he  does 
not  know.  There  have  been  more  instances  than 
one,  where  a  just  and  manly  sentiment,  expressed 
with  the  energy  of  conviction,  has  produced  a  wide 
and  deep  effect.  Those  who  heard  it  have  told  it  to 
their  children,  and  they  again  to  theirs ;  and  thus, 
words  which  passed  at  the  same  moment  from  the 
lips  and  from  the  mind  of  him  who  spoke  them, 
have  gone  down  into  the  hearts  of  thousands,  all  of 
whom  have  been  struck  with  their  truth,  and  have 


21 

made  them  a  maxim  of  their  lives.  No !  there  is 
ample  power ;  confidence  alone  is  wanting  ;  and 
yet  why  should  that  be  wanting,  when  we  know 
that  they  who  put  their  heart  into  any  exertion, 
always  carry  it  triumphantly  through. 

I  was  next  to  speak  of  the  dangers  of  those  who 
are  born  free.  I  might  say  at  once,  that,  they  arise 
from  neglecting  these  duties.  Freedom  implies 
duties  as  well  as  blessings  ;  and  they  who  neglect 
the  one,  cannot  long  enjoy  the  other. 

One  great  danger  is  that  of  indifference  to  our 
free  institutions.  It  is  evident,  that  some  of  our 
best  men  hold  themselves  apart  from  all  share  in  our 
civil  concerns.  I  do  not  refer  to  their  declining 
office  ;  for,  whatever  may  be  the  courtly  language 
with  which  the  servants  of  the  people  address  their 
sovereign,  no  man  is  obliged  to  accept  an  office, 
when  its  duties  can  be  as  well  performed  by  another. 
1  refer  to  duties  which  no  one  can  discharge  by  dep- 
uty. Such  is  the  duty  of  sovereignty,  and  those  who 
retreat  from  all  interest  in  this,  are  doubtless  false 
to  their  trust.  For  by  so  doing,  they  leave  the  field 
open  to  the  ambitious  and  unworthy  :  they  leave 
not  only  the  action  of  government,  but  all  institutions 
of  social  life,  at  the  mercy  of  others ;  they  surrender 
all  their  establishments  of  benevolence,  charity,  and 
reform,  to  the  hands  most  likely  to  destroy  or  abuse 


22 

them ;  they  see  streams  of  false  and  depraving  sen- 
timent flowing  every  where,  without  making  a  single 
effort  to  heal  the  bitterness  of  their  waters ;  they 
see  a  power  constantly  growing  up  behind  the  throne 
of  the  people's  sovereignty,  greater  than  the  throne 
itself,  and  yet  they  stand  apart,  looking  on  with  in- 
difference or  disdain.  Perhaps  they  even  advise 
others  whom  they  can  influence,  to  be  equally  for- 
getful of  their  duty. 

Do  they  say  that  by  taking  an  interest  in  such 
things  they  lose  their  serenity  ?  that  they  are  excited 
by  opposition,  and  depressed  by  seeing  the  success 
of  the  undeserving?  let  them  remember,  that  there 
never  yet  was  a  duty  of  any  importance,  which  could 
be  discharged  without  sacrifice,  self-denial,  and 
exertion.  But  it  is  only  when  men  engage  in  these 
things  from  passion,  and  not  from  principle,  that 
they  are  thus  painfully  excited.  The  right  discharge 
of  every  duty  brings  with  it  rest  to  the  soul ;  rest — 
not  resembling  the  repose  of  stagnation,  but  the 
calm,  self  purifying  action  of  living  waters.  But 
when  men  enter  upon  these  subjects  with  the  vio- 
lence of  passion  ;  when  they  consent  to  enlist  in  the 
rank  and  file  of  party  ;  when  they  think  only  of 
party  objects,  and  forget  their  duty  as  christians  and 
as  men,  then  they  deserve  to  suffer;  and  their  in- 
jured conscience  avenges  its  own   wrongs,  by  kind- 


23 

ling  those  fires  of  passion,  which  become  the  slow 
torture  of  their  souls. 

It  is  true,  that  every  man  who  does  his  duty  is 
liable  to  be  slandered  ;  and  such  attacks  are  painful, 
however  despicable  the  source  from  which  they 
proceed.  But  he,  who,  when  on  earth,  endured  all 
kinds  of  reviling,  said,  The  things  ivhich  proceed  out 
of  the  mouth,  they  defile  the  man.  A  man  cannot  be 
permanently  injured,  but  by  what  proceeds  from  his 
own  mouth  and  his  own  heart.  For  your  slanderer 
depends  on  you,  to  make  good  his  charges ;  unless 
you  choose  to  give  evidence  by  your  conduct  against 
yourself,  he  cannot  sustain  his  charges  :  they  may 
deceive  for  a  little  while,  but  they  will  pass  away. 
There  have  been  those  who  were  injured  by  slan- 
der ;  but  they  were  those  who  broke  out  into  un- 
governable passion,  and  whose  passion  settled  down 
at  last  into  sullen  disdain  ;  they  have  been  injured, 
indeed ;  but  they  have  done  against  themselves 
what  no  one  could  have  done  against  them.  There 
is  nothing  more  lofty,  than  the  native  independence 
of  the  human  soul.  No  man  has  any  power  over 
your  character  or  happiness,  except  what  you  choose 
to  give  him.  The  soul  may  be  lord  of  its  own 
castle,  if  it  will ;  it  can  look  down  with  calm  defi- 
ance on  all  the  enemies  that  surround  it :  unless  it 
will  descend  to  combat  with  them,  it  is  immeasura- 
bly above  their  reach. 


24 

The  ascendancy  of  party  is  another  danger  of 
those  who  are  born  free.  If  a  party  were  nothing 
but  an  association  naturally  formed  by  sympathy 
among  those  who  agree  in  opinion,  and  who  unite, 
in  order  to  spread  their  sentiments  by  free  and  fair 
discussion,  it  would  be  easier  than  it  \a  now,  to  be- 
lieve all  that  we  hear  of  the  benefits  and  blessings 
of  party.  Such  parties  may  have  existed,  and  so 
long  as  the  good  of  the  country  is  their  chief  object 
of  desire,  their  results  may  be  harmless  and  happy. 
But  I  would  ask,  is  not  something  more  meant  by 
the  name,  party  ?  Do  you  not  understand  by  it  a 
combination  of  men,  who  are  marshalled  with  the 
discipline  of  an  army — trained  to  move  with  the 
submission  of  machines — and  kept  within  their 
ranks,  by  an  influence  equal  in  power  and  severity 
to  martial  law  ?  Do  those  who  are  thus  enlisted 
dare,  or  even  desire  to  think  for  themselves  ;  and  if 
any  one,  in  the  manly  exercise  of  his  duty,  forms  a 
sentiment  adverse  to  that  of  his  party,  will  he  be 
praised  for  his  independence,  or  shot  as  a  deserter  ? 
If  then,  party  may  be  an  engine  by  which  private 
judgment  is  prevented,  and  individual  energy  broken 
down ;  if  the  whole  mass  may  receive  an  impulse 
from  a  single  powerful  hand,  should  not  the  free  be 
ever  upon  their  guard,  that  the  interests  of  the  state 
may  not  be  swallowed  in   those  of  a  party  ?     The 


26 

Roman  emperors  were  nothing  but  the  heads  of 
parties.  Their  subjects  did  not  feel  their  chains, 
because  they  gave  their  suffrages  as  in  better  days  ; 
and  being  permitted  thus  to  retain  the  forms  of 
freedom,  they  regarded  it  as  a  relief  to  pass  from 
under  the  tyranny  of  millions,  and  submit  to  the 
tyranny  of  one. 

I  know  that  parties  always  have  existed  and  al- 
ways will  exist  in  a  free  country.  But  must  men 
therefore  be  slaves  to  them  ?  can  they  not  answer 
every  good  purpose,  without  abridging  the  freedom 
of  individual  thought  and  action  ?  is  there  any  need 
of  their  alienating  those  whom  God  and  nature  had 
united,  so  that  they  stand  asunder  in  hopeless  dis- 
union, like  fragments  of  the  divided  rock  ?  is  it 
worth  while,  to  surrender  heart  and  hand,  mind  and 
soul,  to  the  dictation  of  party,  when  each  must 
answer  for  himself  to  God  ?  Let  us  use  them  as 
instruments  merely,  and  never  serve  them  as  mas- 
ters ;  for  voluntary  bondage  is  the  most  degrading 
that  man  can  endure.  Let  our  political  parties  con- 
sist of  those  who  agree  in  desiring  the  good  of  the 
country,  and  simply  differ  as  to  the  means  by  which 
its  welfare  may  be  secured  ;  far  different  this  from, 
the  party,  which  is  an  army  in  all  but  its  arms.  And 
let  us  hope  that  the  time  will  come,  when  we  shall 
no  longer  hear  the  sacred  name  of  religion  taken  in 


26 

vain,  by  connecting  it  with  the  name  of  party.  There 
can  be  no  such  thing  as  a  religious  party.  It  is  a 
contradiction  in  terms  :  just  as  far  as  party  spirit 
spreads  in  our  hearts,  does  the  gentleness  of  Chris- 
tianity forsake  them.  Let  us  hope  that  the  time 
will  come,  when,  as  one  offers  the  hand  of  fellowship, 
the  other  will  not  turn  coldly  away ;  but  may  the 
great  divisions  of  the  religious  world  take  example 
from  the  two  great  rivers  of  our  country,  which  run 
side  by  side  in  the  same  channel ;  for  a  time,  each 
keeps  its  own  current,  its  color  and  its  bounds  ; 
but  at  last  they  unite  their  waters,  and  flow  on  in  a 
single  tide  to  the  deep. 

Another  danger  is,  that  those  who  are  born  free 
will  want  confidence  in  their  free  institutions. — 
There  will  be  violence  at  times  in  free  states  as  in 
all  others.  There  is  no  magic  in  the  name  of  free- 
dom, to  disarm  the  passions  of  men  ;  they  do  not 
change  their  nature,  when  they  become  free  ;  and 
if  any  are  visionary  enough  to  expect  that  free 
states  shall  never  be  agitated,  the  natural  result 
will  be,  that  if  a  threatening  of  danger  comes,  it 
will  fill  them  with  dismay.  Many  of  the  best 
friends  of  our  system  doubt  its  self-sustaining  pow- 
er. But  if  they  say,  that  our  government  is  not 
strong  enough,  let  them  look  round  upon  the  king- 
doms of  the  world,  and  say  what  other  is  stronger. 


27 

We  have  passed  more  than  a  generation  under  our 
glorious  and  happy  constitution,  and  meantime  all 
the  governments  of  the  old  world  have  been  shaken, 
and  some  of  them  have  fallen.  Does  this  prove 
that  they  are  stronger  ?  Ours  too  has  had  its 
trials  ;  they  have  come  over  it  heavy,  dark,  and 
frowning  ;  but  in  the  hour  and  power  of  darkness, 
there  was  present  a  redeeming  spirit  ;  and  we  have 
seen  the  rainbow  upon  them,  as  they  rolled  harm- 
lessly away.  Do  you  say  that  ours  is  only  a  gov- 
ernment of  opinion,  and  does  this  prove  that  others 
are  stronger  ?  there  is  not  a  government  on  earth, 
Barbarian  or  Scythian,  bond  or  free,  which  could 
exist  one  hour,  if  the  popular  opinion  rose  with  one 
voice  against  it.  I  know  it  is  a  fearful  thing  to  see 
the  spirit  of  discontent  and  disunion  spread  ;  to  see 
those,  who  have  fought  side  by  side  the  battles  of 
freedom,  preparing,  with  desperate  insanity,  to  shed 
each  other's  blood  ;  but  every  man  must  do  his  duty, 
and  none  grow  pale  at  the  prospect,  till  the  danger 
is  even  at  the  doors  :  for  if  other  hope  should  fail 
us,  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigns  ! — He  orders 
the  destinies  of  nations  and  of  men  :  none  are  be- 
neath his  kindness,  and  none  beyond  his  power 
But  while  we  should  maintain  our  confidence  in 
those  institutions,  which  have  brought  us  thus  far 
in  a  path  of  light  and  happiness,  which  makes  the 


28 

heart  of  the  historian  burn  within  him  as  he  writes 
it  down,  let  us  not  be  insensible  to  our  dangers. — 
There  is  danger  !  the  faithful  watchmen  have  seen 
the  sword  coming  upon  the  land  !  they  have  blown 
the  trumpet,  and  given  the  alarm  from  their  towers  ! 
Let  no  one  deceive  himself ;  if  one  state  proves 
entirely  false  to  the  union,  that  union  is  gone  for- 
ever. If  one  of  those  beautiful  planets,  now  seen 
in  the  evening  sky,  should  dart  " madly  from  its 
sphere,"  can  you  believe  that  the  same  attraction 
would  uphold  the  rest  in  their  order,  magnificence, 
and  glory  ?  no  !  and  the  moral  sentiment,  which 
holds  the  states  of  our  Union  in  their  system,  can 
never  retain  the  many,  after  it  has  failed  to  retain 
the  one.  But  our  destiny  is  in  our  own  hands  as  a 
people  ;  if  our  state  should  perish,  let  us  not  charge 
Divine  Providence  with  its  ruin  ;  the  blessing  of 
God  has  never  been  wanting  ;  it  dies  by  suicide,  if 
it  dies  at  all.  And  if  it  must  indeed  be  so  ;  if  our 
fathers  and  the  prophets,  who  sat  by  its  cradle,  must 
be  called  to  follow  it  to  the  grave,  there  never  was, 
in  all  the  dispensations  of  God,  a  more  righteous 
retribution,  than  that  which  will  fall  upon  our  coun- 
try ;  and  the  cry  of  its  death-bed  repentance  will 
rise  to  heaven,  but  too  late  to  save  it  from  despair. 
Up  to  this  time,  our  nation  has  been  as  a  build- 
ing fitly  framed  ;  beautiful  for  situation,  the  joy  of 


29 

the  ivhole  earth  hath  it  been.  Many  a  stranger  hath 
gone  round  it,  considering  its  bulwarks,  and  num- 
bering its  towers,  with  feelings  of  admiration  and 
despair  :  the  eye  of  the  angel  may  have  kindled  as 
he  looked  down  upon  it,  believing  that  there  his 
prayers  for  the  happiness  of  the  race  of  man,  were 
answered  at  last.  But  now — before  the  storms 
have  risen  or  the  floods  have  come — before  the 
weather-stains  have  been  seen  upon  its  walls — now — 
they  say  that  there  are  seams  opening  in  its  sides, 
and  that  a  low  and  deep  sound  has  been  heard 
within  it,  as  if  its  foundations  were  giving  way. — 
If  it  is  indeed  to  fall — God  grant  that  it  may  not 
be  ! — but  if  it  is  indeed  to  fall — its  ruins  will  be 
stones  of  stumbling  and  rocks  of  offence,  to  all  the 
friends  of  freedom,  so  long  as  the  world  endures. 
But  there  can  be  no  fears  for  the  cause  of  free- 
dom in  the  world.  It  will  go  on  ;  it  must  go  on  ; 
though  the  failure  of  our  experiment  should  put 
back  its  rising  sun  for  ages,  the  world  will  rejoice 
in  its  light  at  last.  If  our  nation  should  share  the 
fate  of  all  that  have  gone  before  it,  some  other  race 
will  at  length  possess  the  land,  more  enlightened 
and  free  than  ours.  But  even  if  the  order  of  na- 
ture should  be  suspended  here  ;  if  the  ancient 
woods  and  waters  reclaim  their  own  again  ;  if  the 
wild  bird's  scream  and  the  beast's  howl  should  be 


30 

heard  where  our  villages  are  now,  and  the  traveller 
come  to  search  in  vain  for  the  spot  where  our  cities 
stood,  man  will  endure  and  improve  ;  the  light  and 
liberty  of  our  nation  will  no  more  be  missed,  than 
that  star  of  the  seven,  which  has  been  for  ages 
blotted  from  the  sky.  Do  you  sigh  for  your  own 
insignificance — for  the  unimportance  of  your  coun- 
try ?  No  !  be  grateful  to  your  God — be  grateful 
to  Him,  who  has  kindled  in  you  the  inspiring  hope, 
that  you  may  behold  these  changes  from  the  many 
mansions  on  high.  There,  when  this  world  rolls,  like 
the  small  globe  of  the  cabinet,  far  beneath  you,  you 
will  see  the  holy  and  the  free  in  all  nations,  how- 
ever separated  by  distance,  language,  or  opinion, 
moving  on  with  even  files  in  their  march  from  glory 
to  glory.  Never  despair  then  of  the  great  cause  ;  it 
is  safe  and  sure  ;  the  everlasting  arm  is  engaged  to 
sustain  it  ;  it  will  go  on,  as  surely  as 

Our  King  forever  reigns, 
Our  God  forever  lives ! 

It  only  remains  for  me  to  discharge  the  prescrip- 
tive duty  of  this  occasion,  and  to  welcome  you, 
Fathers  and  Guardians  of  the  State,  to  your  high 
deliberations  again.  We  welcome  a  Chief  Magis- 
trate, whose  generous  self-devotion  to  the  duties  of 
his  great  office,  even  party  spirit  does  not  deny,  and 
the   people  acknowledge   with  cheerful  and    will- 


31 

ing  praise.     We   welcome   to   the   second   trust,  a 
respectable  citizen,  whose  character  in   private  life 
is   a   full   assurance  that   he   will  be  faithful   in   a 
high  public  duty.      We    regret   that  he   who   has 
long   held    the  same  place   in  our  councils,    is   to 
retire  from  that  dignified  station.    We  thank  him  for 
his  public  services,  and  our  respect  and  honor  shall 
go  with  him  into  the  retirement  of  his  choice.     We 
welcome    the    Councillors   and   Legislators  to   the 
place,  where  their  fidelity  and  wisdom  has  main- 
tained our  State  in  a   prosperity  which  has  never 
been   exceeded.      Permit   me,    with    the    respect 
which  belongs  to  you,  but  with  that  freedom  which 
belongs  to  the  house  of  God,  to  remind  you,  that  the 
blessing  of  freedom  consists  in  our  direct  responsibili- 
ty to  heaven.     If  your  presence  here  has  served  to 
impress  this  feeling  more  deeply  upon  your  hearts, 
you  will  not  regret  that  you  have  borne  a  part  in 
the   duties   and   devotions  of  the   day.     May   the 
blessing  of  God  rest  on  you  and  the  State  whose 
welfare  depends  so  much  upon  you  :  and  may  we 
say,  with  the  confidence  of  the  royal  prophet,  Thou 
blessest,  oh  God  !  and  it  shall  be  blessed  forever. 


:*.    mM 


FttAN  JUN  0?f§q? 


Date:     Wed,  18  Nov  92   8:30  PST 

To:       ECL4BAT 

Subject:  SRLF  PAGING  REQUEST 


Deliver  to 
Shelving  # 


UCSD  CENTRAL 

A   001  052  866  9 


Item  Information 

Peabody*  William  Bourn  Oliver*  17 

The  duties  and  dangers  of  those  u 

Item 

ORION  #   :  0306325SR 


Requester  Information 

Unit  :  UCSD  CENTRAL 
Terminal  :  UCSD  CENTRAL 

User  Information 


Name 

Lib  card 

Phone 

Address 


Heather  Mcliahon 
undergrad 

cul 


A    001  052  866    9 


University  of  California  _„ 

SOUTHERN  REG.C* I AL Uf«f ^^388 

from  which  It  was  borrowed. 


